6. The tax attorney is personable on the phone or in person. The IRS holds a lot of power. Tax attorneys who are not able to work well with people, will not be able to cope effectively with difficult IRS employees. The result can be the IRS employee exercising their discretion in a way that is not favorable to the taxpayer. Taxpayers should feel comfortable when talking with their would-be tax attorney. 7. The tax attorney is conversant in tax law matters. Tax law has a lot of jargon. Taxpayers should do a little internet research and find a few tax law terms to ask the would-be tax attorney about.

For example, taxpayers might ask: (1) what halts the IRS collection statute (the answer is filing an offer in compromise, installment agreement, taxpayer assistance order, bankruptcy, or leaving the country for a certain period of time)?, (2) what is the difference between an IRS payment and a deposit? (the answer is that a payment belongs to the IRS immediately; whereas, the deposit belongs to the taxpayer and must be returned upon request from the taxpayer), (3) what federal courts are available to handle tax matters (the answer is the federal district, circuit, and supreme courts; the federal court of claims; the US tax court; and the US bankruptcy courts).

If the tax lawyer cannot FULLY answer these questions (without saying “I will have to look that up for you”), then there is a good chance that the would-be tax attorney is not really a tax attorney.

8. The tax attorney has direct experience handling the taxpayer’s particular matter. There are a lot of procedural rules that must be handled properly in tax matters. Direct experience in applying these rules can help produce favorable results quicker for the taxpayer. Taxpayers should ask the would-be tax attorney directly if they have handled the exact same matter before. If they have, then the taxpayer should ask when was the last time (approximately) and how many of the exact same types of cases the tax attorney has handled. Taxpayers would be well advised to not give the tax attorney any wiggle room on this topic. If necessary, halt the conversation and discuss this topic in detail.

9. The tax attorney encourages the taxpayer to get a second and third opinion before hiring a tax attorney. Taxpayers may feel pressure to hire someone immediately after getting a scary notice from the IRS. This is probably a good idea; however, taxpayers should call two or three tax attorneys before selecting the one they will hire. Most tax attorneys offer free initial (and confidential) consultations. When taxpayers make these calls, they should note how long it takes the tax attorney to get back to them. If the tax attorney takes a long time to return the taxpayers phone call, then the taxpayer should expect the same thing after they hire the tax attorney.

10. The tax attorney does not have any complaints against them. Taxpayers can Google the tax attorney’s name along with the word “complaint,” “rip off,” or other similar (negative) terms and they can check with the better business bureau and the state bar association.

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